Woman Says Southwest Refused To Serve Her Alcohol, Wouldn't Say Why

Angel says she hadn’t had any alcohol before getting on her Southwest Airlines flight last week, but for some reason the flight attendant decided–after first taking her order–that she felt “uncomfortable” serving Angel her vodka and Coke.

Last Monday, I flew on Southwest Flight #196 from Phoenix to Baltimore. I exclusively fly with them for all of my personal travel and I usually have a great experience. Unfortunately, this flight was different. When the flight attendant came around to take drink orders, I asked for a vodka and Diet Coke. She wrote down my order and charged my card.

When she brought my drink, I immediately noticed that there was no alcohol in it. I waited until she had emptied her drink tray before I called her over and politely reminded her that I had asked for vodka in my soda. She then informed me that she was “too uncomfortable” to serve me alcohol and asked for my credit card so that she could give me a refund. I asked her if there was any particular reason she was denying me my beverage, and she said that there was a reason – but she did not share it with me. I was absolutely flabbergasted.

I was very frustrated and incredibly embarrassed because people had started paying attention to our little exchange, and I have never been denied a drink in my life. I didn’t press the matter further because she clearly was not going to budge and I didn’t want to make a big scene on a long flight – especially over a drink.

I realize that this is not a big deal. However, I don’t think that I did anything wrong to deserve being denied my drink. I wasn’t drunk and I hadn’t had any alcohol before the flight, so I have no idea why she was “too uncomfortable” to serve me. I saw her giving drinks to others, so it clearly was something to do with me. There was a toddler sitting next to me with his mother. The only reason I can come up with is that she didn’t want to give me a drink because I was seated next to such a young child. But I had no control over this due to the open seating on Southwest.

I looked on the Southwest website for any information regarding alcohol on flights, but I cannot find any written policies. I’ve contacted the airline about the matter, in which I simply asked for an apology – but I have yet to hear back. In addition, I think that if Southwest has policies on alcohol that go above and beyond the age limitation, that information should be available in the in-flight magazine and on their website

Note: I originally referred to the tipster as a male, when she is in fact a female.